1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to automotive safety restraints. Particularly, the present invention relates to automotive safety restraints and their use with child booster seats.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well established that the use of restraints worn across the lap and chest, commonly referred to as “seat belts,” increases the safety of individuals riding in motor vehicles, both for operators and passengers. In the United States, all states have laws regarding the use of such safety restraints. Some of these laws are regarded as “primary” meaning that, in States having such “primary” safety restraint laws, a citation can be written whenever a policeman sees a moving car without a seat belt being used. The remaining States have safety restraint laws considered “secondary,” meaning that an officer cannot intervene for not using seat belts but can issue a citation for not doing so if the vehicle is stopped for another reason.
Special apparatus designed for infants and children weighing less than 30-40 pounds are in common use. Referred to as “infant car seats,” these are secured directly to the seat of the vehicle. The child is held within these “infant car seats” by appropriately sized restraints that are integral with the seat. For older children weighing over 30-40 pounds and too large to fit into an infant seat, booster seats that position the child to appropriately utilize adult seat belts are recommended for automotive safety. All states require safety seats for children under four years old, and many states require older children to use car booster seats, some mandating booster seat use up to age eight.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommends the use of booster seats for all older children up to fifty-seven inches in height. Despite encouragement by safety organizations such as NHTSA, use of booster seats for children between the ages 4 to 8 has been reported to be below 20% in contrast to the use of infant safety seats greater than 80% for infants below the age of 4.
Some booster seats consist essentially of a child-sized seat on a low raised platform. An example of such a basic child booster seat is the Graco TurboBooster (Model 8491SCT) produced by Graco Children's Products of Exton, Pa. This model has no back, and the child's back rests against the vehicle seat back. The Graco TurboBooster model incorporates armrests that also serve to position the child in the seat. Graco indicates this model to be appropriate for children between the ages of 3 and 10 years old, who weigh between 30 and 100 pounds, are between 38 and 57 inches in height, and whose ears are below the top of the vehicle seat cushion/headrest. The booster seat is placed freely upon the vehicle seat, and the child and booster seat are secured by buckling the seat belt of the vehicle about the child. Other examples of child booster seats without backs and similar in design to the Graco TurboBooster are the Cosco Ambassador (Model 220296-WAL) produced by Cosco, a division of Dorel Industries, Montreal, Canada, and Evenflo Big Kid (Model 2791694) produced by Evenflo Corporation of Piqua, Ohio.
Some booster seat models are more elaborate and have backs. These are exemplified by the Graco TurboBooster SafeSeat (Model 10-8673FIC) and the Britax Parkway (Model E904157) produced by Britax Corporation, Charlotte, N.C. The Graco TurboBooster SafeSeat model has armrests, whereas the Britax Parkway is a model that does not. The molded back configuration of the Britex booster seat helps to position the child.
All such booster seat models sit freely on the vehicle seat and when in use, both the child and seat are strapped, as a unit, by the vehicle seat belt. In concept, the seat belt serves to limit the motion of both the child and the booster seat in a forward crash. When the child is then thrown forcefully back, the unfixed booster seat is thought to act as a buffer to cushion the child's rebound. This is opposed to the child being thrown forward and away from a seat that is fixed to a vehicle, in which case the seat would not cushion the rebound. Booster seats with and without backs appear to operate this way in a collision, and there is limited data to suggest enhanced safety of one design over another. When booster seats are used, it is desirable that the positioning of restraints for children be the same as for an adult; that is, for the lap portion of the restraint to fit snugly cross the child's lap, and the “shoulder” portion of the restraint to cross the collar bone (not the face or throat) and chest.
The process of “buckling” a seat belt involves inserting a “latch plate,” typically a flat metal configuration at the end of retractable seat belt webbing, into a “clasp,” “latch,” or “buckle” (synonymous) that is anchored to the body of the vehicle. The latch plate and the buckle are secured together by a clasping mechanism within the buckle, and the latch plate is released by a release mechanism within the buckle. Such devices are well known in the art. The process of putting a child in a booster seat involves first positioning the booster seat on the vehicle seat, seating the child upon it, drawing the seat belt across the child and booster seat, and finally inserting the seat belt latch plate into the seat belt buckle to buckle the belt about both the child and booster seat.
Rear seat belt buckles are generally positioned approximately in the vicinity of the junction of the seat and seat back of the vehicle, and they may be somewhat extended or recessed relative to the seat. Often, the buckle is anchored to the vehicle by a movable material such as ordinary seat belt webbing. FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate a typical seat belt buckle. FIG. 1A illustrates the relative position of a rear seat belt buckle 101 to the seat 100. FIG. 2A illustrates the flexibility of the web material 102 and the relative movement of buckle 101 to the web material 102. This flexible arrangement allows the buckles to be moved out of the way when not in use to secure a passenger, and does not ordinarily pose a problem for adult use. A seated adult can look down to visualize the buckle or easily reach down to feel for the buckle. If needed, a seated adult can use one hand to hold the buckle steady and the other hand to insert the latch plate.
In the case of using a child booster seat, it is recognized that when a booster seat is placed on a vehicle seat, the seat belt buckle typically becomes visually obscured from an adult positioned at the vehicle door. Visualizing the buckle requires bending into the vehicle to look over the booster seat. With a booster seat in place, the seat buckle is accessed only by reaching over the booster seat. An individual wishing to secure a child into a seat belt is characteristically required to look over both the child and the booster seat to find the buckle, as it usually cannot be readily seen over the booster seat and child's legs. The individual must then reach over the child and the booster seat to insert the latch plate into the buckle. These problems are amplified by booster seats with armrests that further obscure view and manual access to the buckle.
All of these hindrances to buckling a child into a booster seat are greatly amplified when the buckle is not stationary, but movable as at the end of flexible seat belt webbing. The movable buckle may retract into the crease between the seat and seat back, or the booster seat may move on top of the buckle and obscuring it when the child gets into the seat. Because the buckle is not fixed in place, an adult has to lean far over the child and use two hands to buckle the child, one to find and hold the buckle and the other to insert the latch. If the booster seat has moved to cover the buckle in the process of the child getting into the seat, the adult is required to move the booster seat about or tilt it with the child in it to grope for the buckle. If the child is irritable or uncooperative, these difficulties with buckling a child in a booster seat are, of course, worsened.
An alternative to leaning into the vehicle and over the child to buckle a seat belt is for the individual to place the child into the booster seat, close the vehicle door, and enter the other side of the vehicle in order to better visualize and access the seat belt buckle. This has the drawback of leaving the child alone in the vehicle momentarily. By the time the adult reaches the other side, the child may move, get out of the seat, doze off, or even fall out of the seat. The option of buckling a child from the “other side” is therefore not usually convenient or desirable, and also is not a viable option if there are intervening children seated.
In the event of two or three child seats next to each other, finding a movably attached seat belt buckle may require manual separation of the child seats, and groping or “fishing” into a narrow space between adjacent child seats or under adjacent seats (that may have children in them). Buckling a child when adjacent booster seats are present may require contorting to hold the seats apart with one hand and attempting to negotiate the latch plate into the moving buckle with the other. Importantly, if the buckle is not clearly visualized or positively accessed, there is an added risk of the seat belt not being properly fastened. Lastly, leaning over the child to find the buckle and buckle the seat belt necessitates placing an ear in direct proximity to the child's mouth for the duration of the procedure. This is unpleasant if the child is crying or screaming.
Therefore, what is needed is an apparatus that improves upon the above-described inconveniences and problems. What is also needed is an apparatus that positions and immobilizes vehicle seat belt buckles for easier accessibility when used with a child booster seat. What is further needed is an apparatus that encourages child booster seat use.